China hits back on Uyghur 're-education camps'

The UN report cited evidence from Xinjiang that tens of thousands of Uyghurs and other minorities were being held in "long-term detention or who have been forced to spend varying periods in political 're-education camps' for even non- threatening expressions of Muslim ethnoreligious culture like daily greetings."

Asia-Pacific

14 Eylül 2018 Cuma 09:31

China has accused the United Nations of relying on "unsubstantiated and irresponsible information" after an international committee released a damning report into the treatment of Uyghurs in China's far-west region of Xinjiang.

In a report Thursday, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed alarm at the "numerous reports of detention of large numbers of ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities held incommunicado and often for long periods, without being charged or tried, under the pretext of countering terrorism and religious extremism."

Responding to the allegations at a regular press conference Friday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the allegations were "not true."

"Maintaining lasting peace and security in Xinjiang is the common wish of all ethnicities," she said. "The policies and measures in Xinjiang are aimed at preserving stability, promoting development and unity, and improving livelihood."

Some unconfirmed estimates from Uyghur groups based in the US claim the number of people detained in this fashion is over one million.

The UN Committee called for the immediate release of wrongfully detained individuals and the undertaking of "prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into all allegations of racial, ethnic and ethno-religious profiling."